Lysis
by Spicule
Summary: Robin's night on the cold rooftops of Jump City does not go according to plan. The Titans will have to band together to face the toughest challenge they have ever had: seeing one of their own break and having to put the pieces together again. This is a story of loss and love, and eventually the humor that results when the situation is no longer under your control.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello there! This is sort of a redo of my old story _Diga me_. New pen name, new stuff. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

_November 30th, 11:23 pm_

Brisk night air whirled between buildings as night cloaked Jump City. A light first snow graced the ground and stirred as the wind rushed by. A young man clad in green and red sat atop a lit building with his cape drawn close, shivering slightly in the night. Robin looked over the city trying to spot trouble from his vantage point, but nothing moved aside from the last leaves falling from trees lining the street. He checked his watch. '_Half an hour left on my shift. I hope there is still hot chocolate back at the tower...'_ he thought as he sat back slightly on his heels. _'I can't believe it's this cold._' He shifted his gaze to the left and idly watched an older woman taking her dog out for one last walk in the park.

'_11:45, fifteen minutes.._.' His ears perked up suddenly. He heard movement to his right. He tensed and spun quickly to come face to face with...nothing. He lowered his staff an inch or two, swearing he had heard something. _'I must be tired_,' he mused and turned back to the street he had been watching. "How quaint." Chills that had nothing to do with the cold raced to the base of Robin's skull as he now stood in front of Slade. Robin backed up quickly and raised his staff. "Slade, what do you want?" Slade took a few calm steps toward Robin who matched each step backward. "Why do I have to want something? Can't two old acquaintances just talk?" Robin had now run out of rooftop. "It is never that simple with you, Slade." Slade finally paused. "Ah Robin, you have no idea how right you are."

Robin whipped his staff at Slade, who dodged and rolled away, coming up with his own staff in hand. "It's just like old times," he taunted as he ran towards Robin. Robin blocked the strike and kicked at Slade's feet. Slade jumped and swung around, narrowly missing hitting Robin in the face. Robin slipped on a patch of ice and caught himself on the ladder leading off the roof. Slade raised his weapon over his head and brought it down on Robin's diaphragm. Robin struggled to hold on to the ladder as the wind was knocked out of him, his staff falling to the street below. Slade spun to attack again and Robin jumped down, clinging to the sides of the ladder as he slid down 15 stories. He hit the ground and was disappointed that he had lost sight of Slade. Robin decided to try to call for backup. _'Come on, pick up.'_ Pain exploded from his right shoulder as Slade brought his staff down on the hero having somehow snuck up on him. Robin rolled out of the way and drew a bird-a-rang and threw it at Slade. Slade blocked it with his weapon and charged at Robin. Robin dodged the hit and landed a kick to Slade's knee, earning a grunt from the villain. "I see you've been practicing." Slade attacked again.

Twenty minutes later, Robin knew he was in bad shape. He still hadn't managed to contact the Titans and was now starting to feel the barrage of injuries he was acquiring. Slade was not letting up. "What's the matter Robin? Getting slow in your old age?" Slade laughed as he kicked Robin's legs out from under him. Robin had had enough. He threw a smoke bomb and ran for it. _'Left, right, left, straight, right...'_ He zig zagged as much as he could, trying to put as much space between himself and Slade. _'Left, right, left,'_ CRASH. Robin came to a dead stop and landed on his back, knocking the wind out of himself yet again. Lights popped before his eyes as he tried to orient himself and get up. He rolled to his feet as fast as physically possible and realized that he had run straight into Red X. He heard footsteps approaching as Red X groaned on the pavement. "What did you do that fmgh-" Robin clamped his hand over Red X's mouth and dragged him back into a dark alley. The pair stood still as the footsteps closed in, neither daring to draw breath. After a minute, the footsteps receded. Red X ripped himself out of Robin's grasp. "What the hell was that?" Red X angrily whispered. Robin hesitated to answer. The two villains might not work together, but that did not mean that Robin trusted the one standing in front of him not to sell him out. "Well?" Red X demanded. "Slade is chasing me," Robin said, searching the alley they were in for clues that Slade was there. Red X took a moment to assess the state of the young man in front of him. Several gashes in Robin's uniform revealed bruised skin beneath and he clearly had one black eye forming under his mask. There were shallow scratches covering both of the Boy Wonder's arms. "That guy gives _me_ the creeps. C'mon, I know a way out of here." Robin hesitated, but didn't seem to have much of a choice: his communicator had broken at some point during the skirmish. Red X and Robin jumped through the basement window of one of the buildings butting up to the alley and came back to street level through a service door. They snuck along the edges of buildings for ten minutes, searching for signs of Slade in the shadows. "What the -" A cloud of green smoke enveloped the pair as they rounded a corner. Neither one lasted long in the sleeping gas.

* * *

The next chapter _should_ be up within the next week. I hope this didn't irritate you _too_ much.


	2. Tough Enough

Hi guys. I just wanted to thank those of you who took the time to review. You make me want to get these chapters out. This chapter is _very_ graphic. Turn away if you're squeemish. Thank you for reading if you're not!

* * *

_December 1st, 1:30 am_

Raven read the clock yet again as a break from her tossing and turning. _'Just give it up,_' she thought, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and shivering as she met the cold night air. _'We have got to turn up the heat in this place._' She grabbed a black cotton robe as she walked out of her room and pulled it around herself. _'Chamomile tea ought to knock me out...and warm me up._' She tiptoed to the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove, turning on as few lights as possible. As she waited for the water to boil, she lightly tapped the counter and gazed out of the large windows in the living room. The slight dusting of snow made the night brighter as the full moon was reflected back off the city. Despite the tranquil landscape, Raven felt ill at ease. Something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The tea kettle almost whistled and she rescued it from the hot stove before it had the chance to wake the whole team. She poured the water into her favorite blue mug and added the fragrant chamomile before approaching the window. The feeling that something was off continued to perturb her as she looked out on Jump City. Robin's watch had ended over an hour ago and he had had nothing to report. Still, thoughts of Robin seemed to make the uneasy feelings worse. She sipped at her tea and recoiled as the scalding liquid hit her lips. _'You would think I'd know by now..._' she mentally scolded herself for her lack of patience. She walked back to the kitchen and the only light she had turned on and set her tea down on the counter. While she waited for her tea to cool, she decided to try to soothe the foreboding feeling. She walked toward the hallway and the doors slid open. She headed directly toward Robin's room, '_Just to make sure._' She listened for any sound coming from the room and heard nothing. She knocked faintly and waited before trying again with slightly more force. Nothing. "Robin?" She paused once more. _'To hell with it._' She opened his door and stepped inside. There was no one. "Robin?" she asked again. "Are you in here?" She searched around the room for any movement. There was none. '_Where is he?'_

For the second time that night, Raven found herself in front of one of her teammates' doors. This time she did not bother to knock or inquire within. Cyborg was laying on his recharging table, his battery indicating that it was 98% full. "Cyborg?" she asked. In response, Cyborg's red eye blinked to life and his human eye fluttered open.

"Raven? What time is it? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Cyborg disengaged from his charging station and took a step toward Raven to assess that he was not having a weird dream.

"Did Robin ever come back from his watch?" she asked, arms crossed.

"Not when I went to bed. But you know him, he's always late. Always has some lead or something that he's checking out 'til four in the morning." Cyborg stretched and yawned, still trying to fully wake up. "Why?"

"I have a... weird feeling. Something doesn't seem right. Robin isn't in his room and I can tell he's not in this tower. Is there any way we can track him?"

Cyborg was about to tell Raven not to worry about Robin, but something in the look on her face changed his mind. "Sure, we can check his communicator signal. That should tell us exactly where he is."

"That would be reassuring. Thank you." The two Titans headed toward the living room, one still groggy and the other one feeling progressively more nervous. Cyborg typed in the password to start up the computer and started typing quickly. A map showing a 20-mile radius around the Tower popped up, but no signal indicating Robin's communicator flashed on the screen.

"That's odd. Even if he were asleep in his bed it should still show up. Let me try again." Cyborg entered the commands for the computer to show the rest of the team too, but only four flashing dots appeared. "Raven, I think your bad feeling might be catching."

_December 1st, 1:45 am_

Cold.

That was the first thing he noticed when he finally came to. Robin tried to move on the freezing stone floor and found that his wrists and ankles were shackled to the ground by metal cuffs. His eyes snapped open. '_Where the hell am I?_' He searched his surroundings for information on what the situation was and how he got here. To his left was the rest of an empty building, crates and boxes were stacked against the walls. He slowly lifted himself to his hands and knees and looked to his right. A limp Red X hung from thick handcuffs bolted to a vertical platform. His head lolled to the side. "Hey, X, wake up. Red X, get up!" Robin hissed loudly from 12 feet away.

"Hrng," Red X moaned as he stirred. "Wha-what happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Is there any way you can get out of there?" Robin asked as he struggled against the bonds holding him. Red X tried to pull free. When that did not work, he tried to shoot an X at his left handcuff. Nothing happened.

"Crap. Someone must have taken the xenothium out of the suit. Now what?"

Robin looked down at the shackles that contained him. "Let me think a minute." Robin leaned back on his heels in an attempt to loosen up his shoulders. He then leaned forward over his hands and let his hips drop to the floor and heard several crackles from his spine.

"Never do that again." Red X chided from his place of imprisonment.

"Never do what again, exactly?"

"That stretchy thing you just did," Red X explained as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "That was entirely too suggestive, and we're stuck here with Slade."

"I still have no idea what you're talking about. What are you saying exactly?"

"Look, Slade gives me the creeps. He just strikes me as the guy to _make you his_, so to speak, just to make a point. I'm just suggesting that you watch your back and don't do anything even remotely... sensual? Is that the word I'm looking for?"

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask. "This conversation is pointless. I'm trying to think of a way out of this mess."

"Now boys, we can't have you collaborating, can we?" Slade's voice echoed through the chamber as he stepped through a door somewhere behind Robin. Slade's heavy footfalls echoed loudly through the chamber as he approached his two captives. "Glad to see you're both awake. Now we can have a little chat."

"What do you want Slade?" Robin growled.

"Always right to the point, Robin. Patience. My will shall be known soon enough. For now, let's have a little fun." Slade unsheathed his metal bo staff and smacked Robin across the back with it. Robin bit back a grunt of pain. He was not going to let Slade see weakness. Slade swung back and whacked Robin across the face, landing the blow on his left cheek. Robin's head began to spin slightly, but he continued to make no noise. "Ah Robin, continue to be brave as long as you want, but eventually I will here you scream."

"You are seriously sick, man," Red X commented. Slade reached for something on his belt, and suddenly electricity ran through Red X from his handcuffs. "AHHH!" Red X yelled out. The shock stopped as soon as it had started.

"You'll get you're turn X, but for now keep your mouth shut." Red X let his head hang as he tried to recover from the shaking spell. "Now Robin, where were we?"

_December 1st, 2:10 am_

The team was now piled in the T-car out looking for any sign of Robin in the freezing night. "Let's check out the tops of the buildings. Star, Raven, start flying," Cyborg ordered while driving. The girls lowered their windows and flew out into the chill. They flew up to the top of the city skyline and began searching for a sign of their leader.

"Let's split up," Raven suggested.

"Agreed," Starfire said as she flew west. She searched each of the buildings with care. After five minutes of looking she spotted something _odd_. A fire escape ladder was completely extended to the ground and the snow on top of the building was disturbed in great arcs. "Team, I believe I have found something. Come to the top of the Wayne Industries building." After a minute, the rest of the Titans joined her on the rooftop. "I believe a struggle took place here."

"I think you're right Star, but what happened?" Cyborg looked around for more clues.

"Here, I'll try to sniff it out." Beast Boy quickly turned into a bloodhound and began sniffing around. He found two scents. One was very familiar and the other was- "Oh no," he said as he changed back into himself. "Slade was here with Robin." The team all looked at each other as the gravity of the situation hit them.

"Let's try to track him. Beast Boy, can you follow a trail?" Cyborg inquired.

"Yeah I think so." He changed back into the hound dog.

"I'll try to contact him my way," Raven said as she flew the green dog down to the ground to continue their search.

_December 1st, 2:30 am_

_'I'm ok. I'm going to be ok.'_ Robin coached himself as Slade brought down his metal staff once more on his ribs. _'I think one cracked, but I'm still ok.'_

"Now Robin, I could just take off your mask and see for myself, but where is the fun in that? I'll ask you once again. Who are you and what is Batman's secret identity?"

"I'll never tell." WHAM. Slade smacked him hard across the face with his gloved hand. Robin worked his jaw a little after that hit. Red X hung limp from his shackles after having been electrocuted several times in the past half hour. Robin took stock of himself for a moment. He appeared to have at least one cracked rib and was bleeding from several places. He spat out a mouthful of blood as Slade circled him again. _'I'm not sure how much more I can take_.' Slade brought the staff down on his back once again.

"Tell me," Slade hissed as he lifted Robin's chin with the staff.

"No." Slade smashed Robin's right shoulder into the ground with his foot. Robin heard a pop. _'And that's dislocated. Awesome. I just have to think. Think.'_ Robin felt what he could only describe as a light tapping in his head as he tried to get his shoulder back into place while rising back to his hands. He noticed that the floor-bound handcuffs had started to blister his wrists. '_Of course. I'm so stupid. Raven? Raven, are you there?_' At that moment, Slade pulled out a knife.

_December 1st, 2:35 am_

'_Raven? Raven, are you there?_' It came in plain as day as the team was walking northbound following the trail that Beast Boy had picked up. "I got him! I got through!" Raven said quickly. '_Robin, hold on. We're coming. Where are you?_' The team had stopped and gathered round on a street corner.

'_I'm in some abandoned warehouse. We're by the ocean based on the smell. Ow, ow OW. Sorry. Slade's giving me and Red X a hard time.'_

The team awaited anxiously. "Robin says he's in an abandoned warehouse by the oceanfront. Slade has him and Red X there and seems to be hurting Robin." Raven reported, looking anxious.

"Tell him we'll be there as soon as possible." Cyborg hit a button and the T-car sped toward them. "We can make it to the docks in half an hour without any traffic. With any luck, we should find him within an hour."

"Hopefully he can make it that long. It doesn't sound pleasant on this end," Raven frowned. The team piled into the car and Cyborg sped off.

_December 1st, 2:45 am_

Robin was now sporting matching cuts on his cheeks from where Slade had started with the knife. _'Stay on the line.'_ Raven said in his head. _'I'll try,'_ he replied. Slade knelt before him.

"Let's try again. Who is Batman?" Robin refused to speak. He just looked the madman before him in the eye. Slade reached back and punched Robin in the diaphragm, knocking the wind out of the young hero. Robin coughed several times, trying to regain his composure.

"Just give up, kid. He's got you beat," Red X finally managed to pop up.

"For once, you should listen to the thief." Slade took the knife and slipped it under Robin's shirt, cutting it in half in one fluid motion. The sleeves bunched on his wrists as his back was now exposed to the cold. Robin shivered.

"No." Robin had finally found enough air to respond. "I am a hero. I will never tell."

"Have it your way then." Slade sliced through the skin over Robin's shoulder blade. "Now, answer me."

"No." Two more slices, one over his other shoulder blade and the next diagonally across his back. Robin continued to let no sound escape his lips.

"What if I told you that I already know? What if I already knew everything about you?" Slade cut Robin on half his low back.

"You're, you're bluffing."

"Oh, am I?"

_December 1st 3:00 am_

Red X could not believe what he was watching. Slade was slicing that stupid 'S' logo into the Boy Wonder's back and it was sickening to behold. 'J_ust a little bit more. Come on!'_ Slade may have removed all of the xenothium from the suit, but he had failed to realize that Red X carried a small set of lock picking devices in the sleeves of his suit. He had been caught low on the chemical that powered the uniform one too many times to not have a backup plan. He had been filing away at his cuffs since he woke up as inconspicuously as possible. _'Just a bit more...'_

_December 1st, 3:05 am_

Cyborg was driving the T-car slowly along the pier, hoping they weren't too late. '_Robin, just keep talking to me. I'm trying to triangulate your position._' Raven sat in the front seat guiding Cyborg. "Turn right here and head straight. The signal is getting stronger."

"It's a good thing you can do this or we'd still be on the east side of the city," Beast Boy said quietly from the back seat. He fidgeted uncomfortably as he looked out his window for any possible signs of Robin.

Raven sighed. She could tell from Robin's thoughts that he was in a lot of trouble. He sounded like he was in pain and was starting to get scared. '_Just hold on._' "Turn left here, Cyborg."

_December 1st, 3:15_

"Wouldn't it be a shame if all this was for nothing? All your strength and willpower, all worthless. I know you're just trying to protect the Batman, but are you really succeeding?"

Red X thought that this was above and beyond ridiculous. Slade had been beating the crap out of Robin for over an hour and was now mentally torturing the kid. '_Some people._' He continued to work at the hand cuffs with his file.

Slade punched Robin in the face again. Robin already had two black eyes and was covered in bruises.

"No Slade. You're bluffing." Robin wheezed out. The kid took shallow, labored breaths.

'_How the hell are we gonna get out even if I get out of this?_' X thought as he watched Slade kneel down in front of Robin.

"Alright, I think you've had enough. Shall I give up the game?" Robin did not respond. "I know. I know everything. I know your _name_, Richard Grayson. And I know that Batman is really Bruce Wayne."

At that, Robin hung his head.

_'No_,' Red X thought. Just when he thought it couldn't get worse, Slade took the knife and cut off Robin's pants leaving the broken boy completely exposed to the cold night air of the warehouse.

"Red X was right, you know. About me being willing to hurt you to prove a point. This will hurt."

"Leave him alone you bastard!" Red X screamed as Slade began to undo his belt. Slade zapped Red X again. "AHHH!" X screamed as his muscles spasmed throughout his body. It finally stopped and he dangled limply from his restraints.

"What was that, Richard?" Slade hissed as he dropped to his knees behind Robin.

"Slade...stop."

"No, Richard. I won't."

'_No.'_

_December 1st, 3:35_

"He's here, I can feel it. Slade's in there with Red X too, but I can barely feel anything from either Robin or Red X." Raven was informing the team as they stood outside of a warehouse that had once been a cargo hold for military shipping.

"How will we get in without getting Robin killed?" Starfire asked nervously, twirling her hair around her fingers.

Raven looked toward the wall and reached out to her teammates.

"My way." Raven sucked them all in with her dark energy.

_December 1st, 3:37_

As Robin waited for Slade to finish, several things happened at once. Red X launched out of his metal bindings and tackled a half-undressed Slade from Robin's right. To his left, the Teen Titans entered a solid wall through a portal of dark energy. Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy all launched straight at Slade, who had just thrown Red X against several empty crates. Raven ran straight for Robin. She tried not to look too closely at his injuries and instead focused on the task at hand. _'How are you?'_ Raven inquired telepathically as she pulled off her cloak and draped it around Robin's naked body. '_I've been better,'_ Robin thought back as Raven undid his shackles with her magic. Raven caught Robin as he slumped to the floor. The battle raged on behind them; Red X had disappeared. Raven flew herself and Robin to the corner farthest from the fight. '_Don't leave the team. Beat him for me.'_ Robin thought.

'_But you're hurt and almost hypothermic. I have to get you out of here.'_

_'No_.' "They need you Raven. Please. I won't rest knowing that he's out there somewhere," Robin croaked. Raven had teleported the team in just before Red X had tackled the villain. She understood. At that moment, Beast Boy came flying toward them as a cheetah. He had been thrown from the battle.

"Beast Boy, take care of him. I'm going in." Raven handed off Robin to Beast Boy as he changed into a gorilla and gently picked up his leader. He looked down at the beaten and bloodied form of one of his best friends and had to look away. Robin sighed and leaned into Beast Boy's warm fur. Raven had been staring at Robin too, but now two pairs of red eyes stared back at Beast Boy.

Starfire had just finished punching Slade so hard into the ground that the concrete broke around his body. She reached back and head-butted him further into the pavement. Cyborg came in and used his sonic cannon to blast Slade into the air. Slade regained his feet and ran straight at Cyborg. Starfire intercepted him and threw a punch that sent him back a few feet. "How could you?" The alien asked as she continued to spar with the villain. A giant red X came flying in from the side as Starfire and Cyborg closed in. Red X still had his hand raised.

"Sorry I was late to the party, I had to get some stuff." Cyborg, Starfire, and Red X approached the supine Slade.

"You will be sorry you ever touched Robin." Starfire said with venom in her voice as she raised a glowing green hand above her head.

"No. It is you who will be sorry." With that, Slade broke out of his binding and threw a smoke bomb at the three in front of him.

"Not so fast." Four red eyes shone out of the smoke. Once the air cleared, Raven could be seen levitating an unconscious Slade in bands of dark energy. The black circles began to crackle, until Slade's whole body was covered in black lightening. Raven lowered Slade to the ground. "Bind him," she said to Red X. X got the message.

"You are very scary when you want to be." Raven merely turned too many eyes his direction. X shuddered. He then covered Slade from the neck down in red Xs. Raven's red eyes faded to two purple orbs and everyone began walking to the back of the warehouse.

Red X knelt before the big green gorilla and took off his cape. Beast Boy allowed Red X to drape his cape around the young hero. "He's extremely tough. Take care of him." With that, Red X turned and walked away, disappearing into the night.

"Let's get him out of here."

Raven raised her hands to the sky and teleported them to the tower.

* * *

Crazy, right? I think there's something seriously wrong with me. Leave a review if you thought that was interesting.


	3. Triage

Hey guys! Sorry for the hiatus; holidays, finals, you know the drill. Thanks to everyone who faved this story. I'll try to update faster this time.

* * *

_December 1st, 4:10 am_

The Titans landed in the living room with a soft thud. Cyborg turned to the rest of the group and began delegating. "Starfire, I want you to contact the police and make sure they pick up Slade. Beast Boy, call the Justice League. I want whoever is acting as their doctor to get here as fast as possible. Raven, you're with me." Cyborg then gently lifted the barely conscious Robin out of the green gorilla's arms. Still wrapped in the two capes he shivered violently, his lips were very blue. _'Hold it together. Fall apart later.'_ Cyborg thought. He cleared his throat. "Let's move."

Starfire looked at Beast Boy. "I can call on the phone. You use the monitor to contact the Justice League." Beast Boy nodded in agreement. Starfire flew to the phone and dialed the police. Ring. Ring. "Jump City police, how may I help you?"

"Hello? This is Starfire from the Teen Titans. Slade has been apprehended at 1534 Seaside Way-"

"The police have already picked him up. We got the tip a few minutes ago. You have nothing to worry about. Goodnight!"

_'Who? Red X. He must have called.'_

Starfire put the phone back and turned to the screen in the living room.

Beast Boy had waited only three rings for Superman to answer the video phone.

"Beast Boy, how may I help you?" Superman seemed only slightly surprised at the Titan on the other side of the call at this hour.

"Well... Robin is hurt. Bad. We could really use some help," he paused. "Who is currently available?" Beast Boy wasn't sure how much to tell the superhero. He simply waited for a reply while tapping his foot out of nervousness.

"Martian Man Hunter should be available. I will alert him. Also..." Superman also hesitated. This situation was obviously serious or the Titans would not have contacted the League. It was also apparently delicate based on how little Beast Boy said aloud. He went ahead anyway, despite his misgivings, "Would you like me to contact Batman?"

Beast Boy considered for a moment. _'If it was me...'_

"Yes, that would be great. When can we expect Martian Man Hunter?"

"He should be down in 20 minutes or so. He will come in our fastest ship. Best of luck, and send Robin my best wishes."

"Will do Superman, Sir." With that, the call ended.

Cyborg gingerly placed Robin on a hospital bed. Raven had already procured a thermometer and sphygmomanometer. She placed the thermometer in Robin's mouth and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around the Boy Wonder's bicep. She pumped the cuff up to 250 mmHg, enough to occlude his pulse. She was shaking as she placed the diaphragm of a stethoscope on the crook of Robin's arm.

"Blood pressure 94/70 millimeters of mercury, temperature is 90 degrees fahrenheit," she reported.

"He's moderately hypothermic. Let's get blankets and hot water bottles. We have to warm him up first and patch him up next." Cyborg started an IV in Robin's left arm while Raven flew to get the water bottles ready. The pair of makeshift triage doctors set about to wrapping Robin in blankets and placing the warmed bottles on his neck, in his armpits and near his groin, regions of heavy blood flow. At this point, Starfire and Beast Boy entered the room.

"His temperature is 91 degrees now. We're getting somewhere," Cyborg said, looking grim despite the improvement. "Beast Boy, ehem," Cyborg cleared his throat and blinked quickly a few times, "Can you get me the bandages? We're gonna need a lot. Starfire, I will need a tub of warm water and some towels and sponges." Robin shivered, a good sign that his thermoregulating systems were coming back online. Raven pulled back the blankets at Robin's feet and began checking them for any sign of frostbite. It was difficult to tell through the bruises, but the Titan's leader did not appear to have any blackened flesh on his toes. Starfire placed the bucket of water near the end of the bed. She and Raven began cleaning off the dried blood on Robin's feet, most of which had come from the blisters formed by the ankle restraints. Beast Boy brought the clean bandages for the girls to wrap around the injuries. Once done there, Raven covered one of Robin's legs completely and exposed the other one by pushing the capes they had left around him for warmth toward his torso. Again, Raven and Starfire cleaned out the injuries and wrapped Robin's left leg up. Cyborg dumped out the already bloody water and replaced it for the girls to assess the other leg. Next, Raven pulled Robin's left arm fully out from under the blanket and they cleaned more raw blisters from the wrist restraint. Bruises covered his arm, some of them being from injuries to his back and shoulders which had leaked down as gravity had acted on them. The other arm was in a similar state and was dealt with in a similar fashion. Cyborg checked Robin's temperature again.

"It's up to 94 degrees. Almost good enough."

"Beast Boy, can you get me another blanket? We're gonna look at his trunk next," Raven pointed to the blankets on top of a cabinet. Beast Boy turned into a giraffe and brought one down in his mouth.

"Kinda gross, but thanks." Raven draped the giraffe-licked blanket over Robin's left extremities and placed the old one over his right side. Robin had welts from the staff and bruises under those. Raven and Starfire began their routine again. "Okay, time for the hard part."Raven laid her hands on Robin's broken rib, her hand glowing blue.

"Thank you," Robin croaked out, taking his first deep breath since feeling the rib snap. _'That feels so much better.'_ He thought at Raven.

_'Don't mention it. Besides, you're gonna want to kill me for what happens next,'_ she thought back.

Raven handed the water bottles to Cyborg and the blankets to Starfire. She then encased Robin in blackness and flipped him over gently, effectively throwing the capes off and exposing his back. The dark red 'S' had begun to crust over and had little blackened tributaries running from it in all directions where the blood had dripped. On Robin's back, the bruises and raised welts clustered together the most, almost completely hiding the color of his skin. Beast Boy ran for a garbage can and began to throw up, noisily.

"Sheesh BB, I didn't think I was that ugly," Robin joked, trying to make light of the situation. Beast Boy gave a half-hearted "Ha," before burying his head in the trash can once again. Raven rolled her eyes and took the blankets and water bottles back from her tougher teammates. She redistributed them as best she could while leaving her workspace exposed. She grabbed the sponge one last time and began cleaning off the dried blood. She worked to keep the pressure light and not press too hard on the bruises. Robin just sighed and buried his head in his newly wrapped arms.

Of course, that's when Martian Man Hunter walked in. Starfire and Cyborg turned quickly to the open doors after picking up the discarded capes and towels. Beast Boy was now leaning on the garbage can trying to catch his breath.

"Oh my." J'hon walked over to Raven who had not so much as flinched away from layering gauze strips over the raw flesh of the Boy Wonder. "Looks like you're almost done here. Mind me asking what the hell happened?" Raven finally looked away for a second and into J'hon's eyes.

"We can discuss the 'how' of this later. Do you know how to set up a morphine drip? At least until he gets some sleep," Raven said, her face blank and demeanor businesslike. J'hon only probed for a moment before realizing that Raven, like the rest of the team, was only moments from breaking down. This facade was in place to get through this situation in one piece.

"Sure, no problem. Also, just so you guys know, Batman should be here in ten minutes. I can take it from here." With that, Cyborg hoisted Beast Boy over his shoulder and Starfire and Raven walked out quietly. J'hon turned to Robin. "This won't hurt a bit." He pulled out the good stuff from a pocket and added it to the IV. He gently turned Robin onto his back. "Get some rest."

J'hon pulled up a chair and waited.


End file.
